I want to get going with provisioning on Saturday as I know I’m going to have to take several trips and long walks ashore. But the wind has shifted Zanshin a bit into the channel, so I am going to be constrained by the bridge opening times. I have to wait until after the 08:30 bridge to do my first foray ashore and need to return before 09:30.
08:30 – 09:30
After it was clear that I wouldn’t be in the way for the 08:30 opening I departed. The 2 diesel canisters went into the dinghy and I sped across to Lagoonies. From there I walked to the Prime Cash and Carry for shopping. It is a wholesale market with a good selection, but most items are packaged too big for me.
They had been recommended to me as a source of meat and I found a full rack of pork short ribs and a PSMO tenderloin of beef (Peeled, Silver Skin, Side Muscle On) that looked really good. I’ll butcher the PSMO later today, after I get the rest of my shopping done. My provisioning on Saturday will continue after the 10:30 outbound bridge opening.
10:30 – 11:30
Another quick foray ashore, the hour is short. I had transferred the 40l from the canisters to my main tank, so needed a refill. While there, I went inside and spoke with Rene regarding bottom paint and got a quote for a new, hard, bottom paint. It was over $3000 but should last at least 3 years while in the water. Armed with the quote and fresh diesel, I returned just in time for the bridge and just in time to move my boat forward and out of the way of an incoming vessel.
Noon
I now had time until the first afternoon bridge at 15:00 to take care of things ashore. I didn’t get to do any more grocery shopping. The bottom paint was next on my agenda. I decided to get the bottom paint after all. I opted for:
- 3 gallons of Sea Hawk 1277 Bottom Paint Primer
- 7 gallons of Pettit Trinidad Pro FD Bottom Paint
The price tag was painful but my credit card company let the purchase slide right on through.
After depositing the freshly acquired paint in the dinghy garage, I fueled up again. But as my main tank was getting close to full, I switched to my second fuel tank. This is smaller with a 300l capacity and was empty. The 40l did get the fuel gauge to move from its pegged empty position.
There was a cruiser’s forum planned at Island Waterworld at 14:00 where 2 sailors, Mike and Mark, would talk about doing the Atlantic crossing. I knew that there would be some free beer available which would attract a lot of the cruisers. Nonetheless I was surprised at the large turnout and the seminar went well. I found out that the stack of T-Shirts on the dinghy behind me was also part of the swag. This was because I had to jump out of the way and grab my backpack to avoid getting run over by my fellow cruisers in their haste to get a free T-shirt.
Evening
I had no real plans for dinner, but went ashore at sunset and found Marjorie and Mark at the Soggy Dollar. I managed to separate them from their crowds of hangers-on (Mark was one of the two presenters earlier) and decided to go to Little Jerusalem for a Shawarma. Although it was busy the food arrived quickly and the portions were huge. And filling & tasty. We would have stayed longer, but a travelling musician set up and started playing Andean music (you know the kind, with the pipes and catchy tunes). I would have paid him to stop, but instead we departed.